The ministry of safety has been given 10 days to pay more than N$100 000 to a police constable who was unfairly dismissed from work in 2018.
Sakeus Eden Inyemba was awarded a settlement of N$105 204 for salaries in arrears in 2019 when he received a default judgement against the ministry of safety and the inspector general of the Namibian police.
However, the two entities appealed the matter, stating they were not given a chance to defend themselves since they were never served with the summons. In their defence, the summonses were allegedly served at the wrong address.
Standing in for the two entities, the head of legal services directorate in the Office of the Inspector General of the Namibian Police, Commissioner George Winley Mhoney, said the person upon whom Inyemba allegedly served to the summons could not be located.
Inyemba in his defence said he personally served the statutory notice to the personal assistant of the first applicant (minister of safety) on 28 September 2018.
He further claimed the personal assistant allegedly called Mhoney in his presence and after she spoke to him, she refused to sign for the acknowledgement of receipt for the notice.
Dismissing the application last week, Windhoek High Court Judge Hosea Angula questioned Mhoney’s position to represent the two government institutions.
“I have arrived at the conclusion that on the evidence before court, there is no proof that the present application has been authorised by the applicants (ministry of safety and inspector general). I am fortified in this conclusion by the fact that the applicants are not before court despite them suing in their official capacities on the papers before court,” said Angula.
Angula further added that the deponent to Mhoney’s founding affidavit does not claim to have been authorised by the applicants (ministry of safety and inspector general) to act on their behalf to bring and prosecute the application.
The two government entities were further ordered to pay the legal fees of Inyemba.
“The respondent (Inyemba) has incurred considerable costs while he is unemployed; he needs to be reimbursed for the costs incurred,” held Angula.
Eden sued his employer for unfairly dismissing him from work in 2018 while he was pursuing his legal studies in Tanzania.
Inyemba was a police constable at the police’s Criminal Investigations Unit at Ongwediva in the Oshana region when he applied for a study leave with full remuneration for the period between January 2017 to December 2019.
He also applied for financial assistance and both applications were approved by his employer. However, while busy with his studies, he was tipped off by a friend that his employment with the Namibian Police might be in danger. He then allegedly travelled back, only to be served with a dismissal letter. According to him, the due process was not followed and he was never given an opportunity to be heard or defend himself.
– mamakali@nepc.com.na